Recordkeeping
For yourself Accurate and thorough record keeping provides an invaluable tool for both you and your vet to determine the needs of your sugar cat. Without good records you won't see the "whole picture" of how your cat is doing or whether and increase/decrease may be in order. Accurate data will also give you a reference of how your cat reacts to doses, feedings and times of day. I have put together a Diabetic Log book that has become my "Bible" for my diabetic cat. It contains everything I need to maintain up to date information for my sugar cat. I purchased a hard surface 3 ring binder that has a pocket on each cover. On the front inside pocket I have paper clipped a business card for my vet as well as my local emergency clinic. In a crisis it is handy to know where these are. On the front I inserted a picture of my cat and the title Smokey's Diabetic Log Book. The picture of your cat could be handy to a pet sitter of anyone with a multi-cat household to know without a doubt who they are caring for. List of items you should have in your Log Book *BG Log Spreadsheet Download #1 (xls File)Spreadsheet Download #2 (doc File). Some glucometer manufacturers also provide logging software, such as this free software from LifeScanLifeScan-Free Software, the manufacturer of the One Touch meters *Curve Log Gorbzilla.com-24 Hour Spreadsheet-Non-Us Measurementsor this US-based 12 hour version12 Hour US-Measures Spreadsheet (xls File) *Vet information *Emergency Clinic Information *Insulin Type/Manufacturer/Ordering Info (+scrip if necessary) *Syringe Type/Ordering Info (+scrip if necessary) *Most recent lab results *Hypo Instructions like these shown at the link below Gorbzilla.com-Treating Hypoglycemia By Melissa *BG interpretation guidelines * Pet sitter informationFelinediabetes.com-Pet Sitter Information *Blank pages for notesBlank Notebook Pages Download The curve article discusses recording blood glucose numbers and completing a curve graph. For emergencies Having a card with information on it in the area with your driver's license stating you have a diabetic pet at home, possibly with some individual care information on it would be great. In cases of accident/illness away from home, the driver's license is ALWAYS checked for your ID, in case you're unable to ID yourself. At home, it's good to keep a current sheet of information in your personal phone book, with the sheet being long enough for it to be seen when the book is closed. (Paramedics & police check this out, looking for medical & family contact information for you, if you can't give it yourself.) It should mention that your pet is an Insulin-dependent diabetic, what his daily dosages are, when they are to be given, what he eats and how much, etc. Include instructions on how to find you, or an alternate person who knows how to care for the animal. For example, Kathy's instructions were to take him to the hospital (address & phone) during office hours and to page (pager #) John (who would then come to get him) after hours. In case something happened to me and I was not going to be able to care for him temporarily, she then was satisfied that he would be cared for properly by those he knew, liked and trusted. The sheet should also say where to find the insulin, where to find his syringes and to take insulin AND syringes with him to the hospital. Further Reading *Vetsulin Online Glucose Curve Generator This online generator will also allow you to print the results out. It does NOT send any of the information you enter back to Intervet. Please note that since this is a US-based website, all values will be shown in US measurements. There is no online generator for the product under the Caninsulin name to provide non-US measurements. References Category:TipsCategory:Emergencies